You're In My Arms
by theheathen42
Summary: SEQUEL to You're In My Thoughts. What happens while Danny's in Montana? COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: ** This is a sequel to my story "You're in my Thoughts" which was a post-ep for 3x14 and attempted to stay fairly canonical as it followed Danny and Lindsay up to the point where they were about to kiss at the end of 3x18. You don't _have_ to read it in order to understand this one, but people seemed to think it was pretty good. The italics at the start are the last scene I wrote in the other story, just so that everyone knows where I'm at (including me).

I've traveled 24,000km (or 15,000miles) in the last 3 weeks, so I'm glad to be home. And writing! I foresee this as being somewhere in the 10 chapter range, more or less, though I have no set plan to limit it. Basically, it's going to cover their time in Montana and maybe the first day or two back in New York.

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_Danny held her hand as they heard the verdict read out. When she tilted her head against his shoulder and smiled like that, he knew that he was exactly where he was supposed to be. He didn't care if she wasn't ready, yet. He got it, now. He'd listened to her story and he'd paid attention and he understood what made her so hesitant. Seeing that smile, though, and feeling her warm hand squeeze his like that? He was definitely going to stick around and wait for her. Feeling her in his arms, he knew he'd be there for her until she could stay in his arms forever._

_You did it, man. You showed her how much you want her. She knows you ain't going nowhere. She knows you're willing to put up or shut up. Now you just have to keep your pants on and not screw it up before she's ready. Turning, he moved to leave the room, but she pulled him back._

_The look on her face as she moved up to kiss him said it all. He didn't screw it up, and he didn't have to wait._

_She was ready._

Unfortunately, so were the press. They descended upon the hopeful new couple and drowned them in flashes and shouted questions. Lindsay could do nothing but smile at their horrendous timing as Danny kept hold of her hand and quickly guided her out of the court room. She remained dazed and confused until after Danny had seated her in the front seat of his rental and gone around to his side of the car to get behind the wheel. He was just about to turn the key in the ignition when she put her hand over his to stop the movement.

"How…?" she asked, her brow furrowed in confused. "I mean, why…? How…?" She swallowed, took a deep breath, and then gave him her biggest smile. "What in the hell are you doing in Montana?" She really hoped that she was giving the impression of stunned disbelief and not infuriated anger.

Danny licked his lips and grinned back at her. It had been way too long since he'd seen that smile on her face. He shrugged and started the car, paying attention to traffic as he pulled out of his parking spot across from the courthouse. "Mac gave me a couple days," he said, as if it were perfectly obvious. "I didn't have nothing better to do, so I figured I'd see what these wheat fields everyone talks about are like." Slowing down to stop at a red light, he turned to her and once more flashed her a grin. "Just promise me you'll keep me away from cud, alright?"

Lindsay let loose a laugh that made Danny feel like he'd lost fifty pounds of dead weight on his shoulders. "I'll keep you away from cud if you promise to take me out for decent pizza the _minute_ I get back to New York." She looked out the windshield as she said this, smiling shyly and trying hard not to blush. It was one thing to talk about dating over IM or email, it was something else entirely to do it in person. And for _her_ to be the one bringing it up!

"You askin' me out on a _date_ Montana?" Danny asked jokingly, holding his breath and once more cursing his lack of subtlety.

"You sayin' yes, Messer?" Lindsay replied, biting her lip and holding her breath, hoping that the flirting and affection she had seen online wasn't all in her imagination.

"I'm sayin' _hell_ yes!" he shouted gleefully, pumping one fist in the air. "With an 'about damned time' on the side," he smiled at her, removing his fist from the air and stroking the fingers through her curls.

Lindsay punched him playfully in the ribs. "Hey! I've been going through trauma here! Give a girl a break!" It was amazing that she could joke about it, now. Just an hour or two before she'd been in the middle of testifying against the man who'd killed her friends and almost killed her, as well. The immense relief and satisfaction of having him put away, having him behind bars where he couldn't hurt her again… it was making her a little punch drunk.

Snuggling into Danny's side, she draped his arm over her shoulders and sighed as her eyes closed. The verdict wasn't the only thing that was lifting her spirits. She took a deep breath and reveled in the smell of him. She didn't know if it was his deodorant or shampoo or maybe he used aftershave, she just knew that whatever that smell was, it was driving her to distraction.

Speaking of driving… "Hey," she thought suddenly, raising her head from his shoulder. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Put that back!" Danny joked, squeezing her back against him and surreptitiously smelling her hair. God, she smelled good. "Just close your eyes and relax. I know where I'm going." His fingers stroked unconsciously up and down her arm.

Lindsay relaxed once more against him, not even bothering to ask how the hell he knew where he was going in _Montana_. He wanted her to snuggle in close and not ask questions? Well, that was just fine with her. For now, at least.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny checked to make sure that Lindsay was asleep against his shoulder, then took out his cellphone and dialed a local number.

"Y'hello," came a man's voice on the other end of the line. He was sounding considerably happier than the last time Danny had spoken to him, although he was probably even _more_ pestered by reporters than before, now that the verdict was in.

"Ted," Danny whispered, being careful not to wake his passenger. "It's me, Danny."

"Danny?" Lindsay's father asked. "Where the hell are you? You were supposed to be here by now." The voice got suddenly gruffer and distinctly annoyed. "You didn't take my Linny anywhere you shouldn't have, did you?"

Danny gulped and squirmed a little bit under the weight of Lindsay's head on his arm. "Um, no sir." He'd never actually met her father, but Danny was already becoming just a little bit scared of Mr. Monroe. "I uh, just kinda, um…" he trailed off into a mumble.

"What was that? I didn't catch it," there was definite amusement discernible now.

"I'm lost, alright?" Danny said with as much annoyance as he could muster without rousing his girlfriend.

"You don't say?" Yes. There was definitely amusement. Entirely too much of it, too. "Scrappy, young New Yorker like yourself can't even drive in Montana without getting lost?" Apparently, sarcasm and mockery were familial traits amongst the Monroes.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up," Danny chuckled in spite of himself. Now he knew were Lindsay got her spunk. "Look, I just passed County Road 3. What do I do now?"

"Well, if you just passed County Road 3, I guess what you do now is turn around and go back because you've gone too far." Danny could sense that he wasn't going to be living this one down any time soon. He wondered if there would be any way to bribe Ted so that he wouldn't tell Lindsay.

Probably not.

"Perfect," Danny grumbled, gripping the steering wheel more tightly in his hands.

"You're not too far off, though. Just go back to Miller's Crossings and make a right at the old Douglas farm. We're about a mile and a half down the road. You can't miss it."

"That's what you said about the farm," Danny pointed out with some bitterness.

"I figured Linny'd point that out to you."

"She's asleep," Danny told him, a note of tenderness creeping in underneath his accent. "I didn't wanna wake her up after the rough time she's been havin'. Figured she could use the sleep."

There was a pause at the other end of the line, and the usual gruffness of the older man's voice softened into camaraderie. "You just don't want her to know you're lost."

"That too," he grinned.

"Try not to drive all the way to Wyoming, okay?"

"Yes sir, I'll do my best."

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Lindsay frowned and mumbled something as she felt herself being shaken awake. She was having such a great dream, too. Danny had shown up in the courtroom and that rat bastard had been found guilty and then she and Danny had gone somewhere private to discuss what they'd been talking about online all week. God, she just _knew_ he'd be a great kisser.

"C'mon, Montana. Wake up. Or do you want I should pick you up and _carry_ ya into the house?" Danny shook her again and grinned down at her confused expressed.

"Am I still dreaming?" she asked, bringing a hand up to feel her forehead for a fever.

"I dunno," he replied, unbuckling his seat belt and gently helping her to sit up. "Do your dreams of me _usually_ include a rented car and showing up at your parent's place for dinner?" He raised his eyebrows in mock concern. "Cuz if so, I really think we gotta have a talk."

Lindsay grinned and extricated herself from her seatbelt and the car, stretching and yawning as the events of the day came back to her. It wasn't a dream. Well, the bits with them making out in a broom closet were a dream, but the rest of it wasn't. She practically bounced up the front walk to the door.

"How did you know where I lived, anyway?" she asked, no longer content just to let that slide. The door opened up and her parents came out with huge smiles on their faces for both of them. The light suddenly went on in her head. "Ohh," she grinned. "Called my dad, right?"

"… yeah, pretty much."

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Dinner was finished, the dishes were done, coffee was consumed, and conversations had gradually died out. Everyone was drifting upstairs to go to bed until Danny and Lindsay were the only ones left.

"Where's your bag?" Lindsay asked. "You can brush your teeth in this bathroom, and I'll use the one upstairs."

Danny dragged a hand through his hair rather sheepishly. "I don't actually have one."

"You forgot your toothbrush?" she asked distractedly. Her mother hadn't actually given any indication of where Danny would be sleeping. Lindsay was in her and her sister, Erin's, old bedroom. Erin was in the twins' old room, and her older brother, Tom's, room was now a home office.

"I forgot everythin'," he bounced on his toes and wondered how he'd get around the lack of pajamas if he was supposed to be sleeping on the couch in the living room. Lovely as Helen was, he didn't really want Mrs. Monroe to walk in on him in his underwear. He'd rather save that for her older daughter. "Didn't bring a bag," he shrugged. "This was a kinda spur-of-the-moment sorta deal."

"Oh," Lindsay said, instantly grasping the idea that all Danny had was what he was wearing. "Um. Right." She was trying desperately not to ponder the age-old question of boxers versus briefs. "I'll get you a toothbrush, then. My mom usually keeps a bunch of them in the bathroom cupboard." She went down the hall and returned a moment later with a toothbrush and some towels.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

They stood awkwardly in the living room for a few moments, neither one really knowing what to do next.

"You got some sheets or somethin' for the couch?" Danny finally asked, breaking the silence.

"How about _I_ sleep on the couch," Lindsay suggested, blushing slightly. "Since you don't have any pajamas here." She bit her lower lip at the thought of a naked Danny sleeping in her bed. "You can take my room. It'll give you a bit more privacy."

"No way, Montana," Danny said firmly. "You ain't slept right in a month, I bet. No way am I takin' your bed from you."

"Well, I'm not letting you sleep out here where my mother might see you in your underwear," Lindsay shot back, barely keeping a straight face at the mental image of her mother's face if she were presented with such a spectacle. "_Plus_ you've been on the road since god knows when, and that's _after_ working almost 72 hours straight."

They stared at each other, both with arms folded and an uncompromising stance. They both knew where this was going, it was just a matter of who said it first.

"… well, I guess we could always… share."


	3. Chapter 3

Lindsay applied a dollop of toothpaste to her brush, then passed the tube over to Danny so that he could do the same. She watched him surreptitiously in the mirror as he began brushing with gusto and had a hard time hiding her smile with her own smaller hand movements. He just had so much _energy_. She let her mind wander a bit with that thought.

Danny glanced at Lindsay out of the corner of his eye as he bent over to spit in the sink. He'd seen her picking up bits of dead body; he'd seen her break down on the stand; but there was something about watching her brush her teeth in the house where she grew up that was strangely intimate. He shook his head slightly to brush away his thoughts and went back to his teeth with more vigor.

Lindsay panicked for a moment when she realized that she had to spit in front of Danny. I mean, she couldn't very well _swallow_ her toothpaste, could she? Hmm… No. No, that would just be gross. Covering her mouth slightly with her hand, she leaned low over the sink and spit as delicately as possible. She looked up just in time to see Danny's amused smirk before he could cover it up with a cough.

She don't like to spit, eh? Danny thought, amused. Good thing my mouth is full, or I'd have said that and she'd have killed me.

He's probably thinking some stupid spit/swallow pun, isn't he? Lindsay thought, rolling her eyes at him. If he actually says it, I'm so going to smack him one. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, again. Not too hard, though.

They stayed in the small bathroom for much longer than was necessary. Both of their dentists would be gratified by the cleaning their teeth received. After an extensive amount of flirting in the mirror with their eyes, Lindsay rinsed her mouth one more time and then dried her hands on a towel. "I'm just going to… go…" she coughed and tried to cover her blush. "I'll be in my room. Can you give me two minutes?"

"Sure, no problem," Danny shrugged wondering why she'd need the time. "What for?"

Lindsay raised her eyebrows significantly.

Danny gulped, swallowing the mouthful of water he'd taken to rinse out his mouth.

"Ohhhh. Right, sure. You… do that." He suddenly found himself wondering if she'd packed any lingerie for this trip. "I'll uh, I'll knock before I… you know."

"Sounds good," Lindsay nodded with more confidence than she felt. Why hadn't she brought any lingerie with her on this trip?

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Danny waited five minutes, just in case, before he went up to Lindsay's door. He checked his watch for what had to be the hundredth time in ten seconds, bounced on his toes a time or two, checked his watched again, and then finally knocked lightly. He held his breath and waited.

Lindsay stared at her clock radio, willing the minute to turn over. She'd said two minutes, hadn't she? It had been at least five, already! She picked up Panda-rooney, her favourite stuffed animal, and looked him directly in his glassy eyes. "I swear to _God_, if he chickened ou-Aaah!" she let out a small shriek when she heard the small knock on her door.

"Y'alright in there Linds?" Danny whispered urgently. "What happened?"

"Shit, shit, shit," Lindsay cursed under her breath. "Uh, nothing. I just, uh…" she glanced around helplessly. "… stubbed my toe."

"Oh," Danny turned his mouth down in a sort of facial shrug. "Well, can I come in, yet? You decent in there?" Please be not decent. Please be not decent.

Lindsay took a deep breath and sat down on her bed, pulling the covers up over her lap. She silently thanked whatever gods may be that she'd shaved her legs that morning. "C'mon in," she cheerfully invited, sounding much more confident than she felt.

Danny took a slow, deep breath. Ain't nothin' gonna happen in there, he reminded himself. Just keep your cool and don't scare her off before you even get started. He slowly turned the knob and peered around the door. Lindsay waved awkwardly at him from the bed. He waved back and offered her a tight grin before closing the door behind him and making his way over to stand next to her.

"So…" he started, drumming his hands against his upper thighs and trying to figure out how exactly to get into bed with a woman you're not supposed to have sex with.

"So…" Lindsay replied, biting her lower lip and wondering if she should turn back the corner of the covers or pat the mattress beside her or what.

"Look, Montana," Danny started, running a hand through his hair. "I just want you to know that this ain't what I expected when I came down here." His eyes trailed over the upper part of her body and then closed briefly when he realized she wasn't wearing a bra under her pajama top. Don't go there, Messer. "I mean, I know that you're all … I dunno, upset or whatever. And I know that you don't want nothin' like this yet, or anythin'. And I just wanna make sure that you know I ain't pressurin' you for more … stuff. Or somethin'. Not that I don't _want_ to!" he added hurriedly.

Lindsay looked up at Danny's tortured face as he tried to make it clear that he both wanted to be with her and wanted to wait until she was ready for that step. She was tempted to see just how long he'd go on for before he stopped, but she decided to take pity on him, instead.

"Will you just take your damned pants off and get in the freaking _bed_ already, Messer?" she grinned, shaking her head at his awkward speech.

Danny stopped short, mouth agape, and stared at her. "Hello, Miss Monroe," he grinned back. He couldn't help but smirk when Lindsay made a sort of yelping noise as his jeans hit the floor. Looking up, he caught her appreciative glance and held it as he stripped off his sweater and dropped it on the floor. He was contemplating losing the t-shirt, too, when she patted the bed beside her. Slipping off his socks, he turned off the bedside lamp and slid in next to her.

"Well," Lindsay started, casting about for something to say, "I guess this is goodnight?"

Danny opened his mouth to say something, then decided against it. "Sweet dreams, Montana," he whispered gently, kissing her on the forehead.

Lindsay's nerves faded with the realisation that Danny wasn't expecting anything to happen, regardless of their sleeping arrangements. Curling up beside him, she rested her head on his shoulder and spread one hand out across the reassuring expanse of his chest. "Sweet dreams, Messer."

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It was still some hours before dawn when Lindsay awoke. She smiled without opening her eyes as she felt the comforting warmth of Danny's chest beneath her fingers as her hand rose and fell with each of his breaths. She slowly inhaled the wonderful scent of him and snuggled closer into his side, now opening her eyes to peer at him in the darkness. Her grin broadened as she took in the arm he had flung over his head at some point in his sleep and the way that his tousled hair made him look younger than his 30 years.

Lindsay lay there for some time, just watching him sleep and listening to him breathe. She thought about how much she cared for him. She thought about how long she'd had a crush on him. She thought about how really amazing he looked, lying there beside her in her bed.

And licking her lips, she took a deep breath and kissed him.

It was the lightest of touches because she didn't want to wake him. His breathing didn't change at all as she hovered with her mouth poised above his, so she took a chance and brushed her lips across his one more time.

She lay back down and closed her eyes again, still not quite believing what she'd done. It felt good, though. Settling into a comfortable position for sleep, Lindsay realized that she'd have to come up with some reason why she was grinning like a fool. But she could do that in the morning.

**Author's Note: **The toothbrushing scene was inspired by a similar one in the movie Bring It On. For some reason, it just seemed appropriate to have a moment like that in this story. The rest of the interaction between them is, strangely enough, taken pretty much directly from my life.

And don't worry, there will be more of this in chapter four. No nookie, though. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

Danny looked down at the woman sleeping peacefully in his arms. She was snuggled tightly against his side with her head resting on his shoulder, and he couldn't think of a better place for her to be. She fit so perfectly beside him that it was scary. He'd wanted this for months and months and now that it was within his grasp, he felt his chest tighten up and his breathing quicken as he tried not to panic.

Careful not to wake her up, Danny gently extricated himself from her embrace and walked out into the hallway and into the bathroom. He always thought better in the shower.

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Lindsay woke up with a lazy smile on her face and the scent of Danny in her nostrils. She nestled further into the pillow and reached out a hand to reassure herself that he was really there.

Her hand connected with the cool sheets on the mattress next to her.

Her smile faded into a frown of consternation and she sat up in bed, brushing her hair out of her eyes and looking around her room as if Danny might be hiding in her closet or under her bed.

"I didn't just dream that, did I?" Lindsay asked an equally-confused Panda-rooney.

"Dream what?" Danny asked, walking back into her bedroom with a towel slung low around his hips and water droplets still clinging to his chest. "Who're ya talkin' to in here, Montana?" He poked his head out of the towel he'd been using to dry his hair and took in the teddy bear on her lap. "That my competition?" he grinned.

Lindsay blushed and looked around for a safe place to rest her eyes. They kept being drawn back toward his arms… and chest… and that muscular line leading from his hip down underneath his towel. She bit her lip and took a deep breath, focusing on the stuffed animal she held. "This is Panda-rooney," she said. "Panda-rooney, this is Danny." She immediately wanted to kick herself. What was she? Five? Who introduces a stuffed animal?

Danny's grin widened and he gave Panda-rooney an almost perfect bow, marred only by the necessity of hitching up his towel so it didn't fall at his feet. "Nice to meetcha," he said, standing up again and giving a small salute.

Still biting her lip, Lindsay risked another glance in his direction and felt herself turning even redder. Her heart was beating so fast she was surprised she was still alive and she was having difficulty keeping her thoughts free of all sorts of naughty ideas.

I'm not ready. I'm not ready. I'm so very not ready. God he's hot. No! Not ready!

She jumped out of bed suddenly, almost running from the room. "I'll um… I'll see if Dad has anything that you can wear."

Danny smiled in bemusement at her sudden departure and then turned to the bear. "You _do_ realize you don't look nothin' like a panda, right?"

Panda-rooney stared back in glassy-eyed passivity.

"Just checkin'."

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"OhmygodErin!" Lindsay whispered in a rush as she jumped onto her younger sister's bed and shook her awake.

"Mmmwha?" came a muffled reply from under the blankets.

"Danny's in my room, and he's naked!" Lindsay hissed urgently.

"Whaddayainherefor?" Erin mumbled, swatting her sister away and wanting at least another hour of sleep.

"_Naked_, Erin! Naked and dripping wet from a shower! Danny!" Lindsay started poking her sister in the ribs, mercilessly.

Erin convulsed away from the pokes and emitted various impossible-to-represent-typographically sounds of discomfort. "If you don't know what to do with him, then send him in here and I'll take care of him." She squealed due to a particularly accurate thrust. "Alright, alright! I'm up! Eesh!" Throwing off the covers, she rolled over and glared up at her older sister. "_What_?"

"What do you mean, _what_?" Lindsay demanded in a panic. "What do I _do_?"

Erin blinked. "Well, you see, Lindsay… when two people love each other very much…"

Lindsay hit her in the face with her pillow.

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Ten minutes and much sibling abuse later, Lindsay returned to her room with a small pile of her father's clothing and no better idea of how to handle Danny. Danny, meanwhile, had dried off and found something to cover up with.

"Cream and sugar?" he asked the Raggedy Ann doll on his left.

"… _what_ are you _doing_?" Lindsay asked once she'd recovered her power of speech. She really wished she could remember where she'd put her camera.

Danny looked up from his cross-legged position on the carpet. "Servin' tea. Want some?" he asked, as if hosting a stuffed animal tea party while wearing a silk kimono were a regular occurrence for him.

Lindsay's father poked his head around the door. "Danny, I…" he blinked twice, "… don't want to know what you're doing there, but I brought some of the twins' old clothes because they'd probably fit a lot better than mine ever would." He placed the jeans and tshirt on the end of the bed and shook his head, trying to clear the image from his head.

"Thanks Ted. Much appreciated," Danny toasted him with the little plastic teacup.

"Let's… never speak of this again," the older man requested. He exited, and it was only after the door latch clicked shut that they heard his guffaws from the hallway.

"Cream and sugar?" Danny asked, smiling up at her and offering her a cup of imaginary tea.

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"Why don't you take Danny into town and show him around?" Helen asked after breakfast was over. She'd seen a number of significant looks being passed around by the various members of her family, and she needed the couple out of the house so that she could find out what exactly had gone on while she'd been cooking.

"Yeah, Montana, gimme the dime tour," Danny encouraged. "Show me some of them wheat fields you like so much." He unconsciously played with her hair as she sat next to him on the sofa.

"Since when do you like wheat fields?" Erin asked, trying not to show her happiness for her sister. She didn't want Danny to think this whole 'meeting the family' thing was going to be a cakewalk. "And why are you calling her Montana?"

"Because it bugs me."

"Because she loves it."

"Well, that cleared that up."


	5. Chapter 5

"This is it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"It just looks like you really need to mow the lawn." Danny ducked as Lindsay took a joking swing at him. "I'm just _sayin'…_"

"Shut up, city boy," Lindsay smiled fondly. She settled back down onto the hood of the car and let her eyes wander over the gently-swaying, pale yellow stalks. It was true that they weren't really all that much to look at, but the sheer size of a wheat field -- the way it could run right over the horizon and meet the sky – it made her more aware of how very large the Earth really was and it somehow anchored her own position in it.

Of course, she couldn't really put that into words, so instead she just said, "I like it, and if you don't then you're a doodie-head."

Danny mimed being shot in the heart. "Oh no! Not a _doodie_-head!" He made gurgling noises and clutched at his chest before falling dramatically off of the car.

"Oh yeah. Definitely. A _big_ one." It was all Lindsay could do to keep a straight face.

He peeped over the sideview mirror at her, loving the way the sun was making her hair look like gold. He could just make out the twitching at the corner of her mouth that told him she was seconds away from one of those really big laughs that made his whole body feel lighter. He vaulted back onto the hood of the car as if he were auditioning for a part in The Dukes of Hazzard and slid right over until he was leaning on his hand and hovering over her. "_How_ big?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows meaningfully.

She finally cracked up, the laughter she'd been containing welling up from inside her and spilling out. Danny tickled her ribs to keep it going, wanting nothing more than to finally be able to kiss her.

She ain't ready. She ain't ready. God, she's hot. No! Not ready!

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"Hey boys!"

"Tiny!" A group of rather large, uniformed men turned and stampeded toward the petite young woman, almost suffocating her in a series of exuberant bear hugs.

Danny watched from the doorway of the Bozeman Police Station, eyebrows raised and mouth turned down in bemusement. It looked like Montana was popular wherever she went. It also seemed she had an affinity for nicknames.

"Tiny?" he asked once the noise of greetings had subsided a bit. Lindsay blushed and looked down. She really hoped that he'd let that one go sometime soon. She kind of doubted it, though.

"Hey, Tiny, who's this guy?"

"Boys, this is Danny Messer. I work with him in New York." She noticed quite a few belligerent looks being directed toward him. "And the first one of you who makes a snotty, city-slicker comment to him gets his ass kicked by _me_." She folded her arms and glared up at the men around her, the shortest of whom was still at least six inches taller than her and a good fifty pounds heavier. She held her scowl until each man shamefacedly looked away. They remembered the days when they did unarmed combat training with her.

Lindsay walked to the doorway and took Danny's hand to lead him into the room. "Danny, these are my boys," she introduced with a huge smile. Danny kept his smile in check and offered 'the boys' a wave and a nod of greeting. He was definitely going to have to pump these guys for some stories.

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They spent most of the morning at the small police office, exchanging stories of law enforcement excitement. The boys had already heard most of Lindsay's stories through her emails home, but they ate up everything that Danny gave them. They even surprised him a few times with some of the cases they'd had in the area. Everyone carefully avoided the details of the one that had just been tried the day before.

By the time lunch time rolled around, Danny and Lindsay were driving from the station back into town. Danny pulled into a spot outside a nice looking café and got out with a look of anticipation. This looked like the kind of place with homemade fried chicken and really good pie. Looking back to the car, he noticed that Lindsay hadn't left her seat, yet. She seemed to be deep in thought.

"Hey Montana, you daydreamin' in there or somethin'?" he asked, opening her door and giving her a hand out. "I'm starvin'. Let's get somethin' to eat." She offered him a brittle smile as he placed a familiar arm around her and guided her into the diner with a hand on her back. He nodded to the waitress and they slid into a booth by the windows.

"Coffee?" asked the waitress, a middle-aged woman who looked like her name should be Flo or Shirley. Danny smiled up at her and held out his mug, but Lindsay just stared at the tabletop and shook her head no. "I'll just give you a minute to… Lindsay?" the woman stared in astonishment. "Lindsay Monroe, is that you?" She held a hand over her heart as if she were afraid it might stop beating at any moment. "I never thought I'd see the day when you'd come back in here again!"

Lindsay smiled with absolutely no enthusiasm at all and lifted her fingers from the table in a small wave. "Hi, Gloria," she whispered, not trusting her voice. She glanced across the table to see Danny's look of confusion. "We'll uh… we'll order in just a minute."

"Well alright, then," Gloria smiled cheerfully. "I recommend the dry rub. It's fantastic," she whispered conspiratorially before departing.

Danny reached across the table and tentatively took her hand. "Lindsay…?" he started, feeling very unsure of himself.

Lindsay took a deep, shaky breath and let it out. "This is… this is where it… happened," she said, barely restraining a sob. She took another deep breath and closed her eyes to stop the tears.

"Shit," Danny swore under his breath, threading his fingers through hers and squeezing her hand tight. "I'm an idiot." He slapped his free hand against the table, making her jump slightly. "Sorry, sweetheart. I'm so sorry." He ran his hand through his hair and took of his glasses so that he could rub his face. "Let's get out of here, okay?"

Lindsay squeezed his hand tightly and finally raised her head up to look at him. "No," she said. And then again, stronger, "No." She pushed her shoulders back and tossed her hair out of her face. With one more deep breath, she lifted the menu. "I can do this." She gave him a tight-lipped smile and squeezed his hand again. Danny looked deep into her eyes and was overwhelmed by her strength and determination. He wanted nothing more than to care for and protect her forever.

"So, did you two decide?" Gloria asked, snapping her gum and waiting with her pencil poised over her order pad.

"Yeah," Danny answered, not looking away from Lindsay's tear-filled eyes. "Two of those dry rub things you told us about. And I think we're gonna want some pie, too."

Lindsay smiled in spite of herself. "Definitely pie."

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"Coleman's Department Store?" Danny asked, looking up at the worn façade and large display windows before him.

"No trip to Bozeman is complete without a visit to Coleman's," Lindsay grinned. Danny had been almost annoyingly attentive ever since their visit to the diner. While she appreciated his sensitivity to her feelings, she kind of wished he'd just let her get over it in her own way. Obviously, distraction of some sort was necessary. "Besides, we really need to get you something better to wear," she looked down at the too-long jeans and too-big shirt he was sporting. "You're practically drowning in that stuff."

Danny raised a skeptical eyebrow at the store. This was definitely not Hugo Boss. This was barely Boss Hogg. "I'm headin' back to the city tomorrow, Linds. I'm sure I'll be fine…" but it was too late. Lindsay was already dragging him into the store.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

"This is the coolest knife I ever seen!" Danny exclaimed, practically drooling over the hunting knives in the display case. "This the same one you got?"

Lindsay glanced over at where he was pointing. "Yeah. I think this shirt would look good on you," she held it up against his chest, flattening it against his muscles with her fingers. She was shameless and she really didn't care.

Danny, for his part, was getting rather distracted with the way she kept touching him every time she found something. The way she'd run her hands over his hips when he'd tried on a pair of jeans had just about caused an embarrassing situation of a tenting nature. "I already got a shirt and a pair of jeans and some socks and underwear, Montana." He almost blushed at the memory of her telling him to try on the boxer briefs so she could see if she liked them. Of course, her laughing at his expression sort of took the sexiness out of the moment, but still. "I think I'm set."

Lindsay shrugged and looked around the store one more time, trying to judge if she'd missed anything. Something in the corner caught her eye and her smile turned slightly devilish. "C'mon."

"What are we doin' way over here?" Danny asked, looking around at a bunch of magazines and a rack of bodice-ripper novels. "You lookin' for some readin' material or somethin'?"

Lindsay ran a finger down the front of his shirt and looked up at him coyly. "Remember Evan, from this morning?" she asked, curling one finger over his belt.

Raising an eyebrow, Danny gulped slightly at her closeness. "Yeah, sure. Tall guy. Dark hair. Glasses."

"That's the one." Lindsay moved a half-step closer and moved her other hand from his chest to the small of his back. "It just so happens that it was on this exact spot that he gave me my first ever kiss." She arched an eyebrow at him and dared him with her eyes.

"That right?" Danny cleared his throat, willing his heart to beat a bit slower. It looked like maybe she was a bit more ready than he'd thought. "Right here, eh?"

"Mmhmm," Lindsay nodded, biting her lower lip and standing up on her toes, slightly.

"It any good?" Danny asked, grinning.

"Not bad," she grinned back.

"He slip you the tongue?" he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

"Danny!" she smacked him on the shoulder.

"That a yes or a no, Montana? Inquiring minds wanna know."

"Inquiring minds are three seconds away from getting kneed in the groin."

"Touche."

They shared a smile and leaned into each other. After a year of foreplay, they were finally getting to the main event.

"Does Evan know you're cheating on him in 'your spot' Lindsay?" came the overly-perky sound of the annoying younger sister.

"You wanna kill her, or should I?"

"Let's share."


	6. Chapter 6

"I still don't see why you had to tell Mom and Dad about me faking the glee club to go out with Kyle Miller," Erin pouted, blowing her bangs off of her face and letting them settle again before repeating action. This was her classic 'unimpressed' pose: slouched down in a chair, arms crossed over her chest, and bangs in her face. It drove their mother nuts.

Fortunately, Lindsay couldn't care less.

"Why, _why_, **why** did you interrupt me and Danny at the store today, huh?" Lindsay wasn't even listening to her kid sister. Instead, she was pacing up and down the rec room floor, gesticulating wildly and attempting not to throttle the younger woman. "Do you have _any_ idea what we were about to _do_?!" She stopped and stood towering (or as close as she could come to towering with her short stature) over Erin with her hands on her hips and an irate expression plastered all over her face. The fact that she had to hiss all of this out in whispers so as not to call the attention of Danny and her family who were all upstairs in the family room was just making her angrier.

Erin smirked and raised a derisive eyebrow in response. "I'm pretty sure that Mr. _Ducette_ knew what you two were about to do." She adopted a beatific smile, "And he's 87 years old and _blind_."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I need my kit down here, yet?" Danny called as he made his way down the stairs. "I'm not seein' any splatter, but it could be a centralized blood pool," he flashed the sisters a lopsided grin and exerted all of his will power not to laugh at how very similar they looked in their angrily pouting positions on the couch and chair.

Erin pointed an accusative finger in Lindsay's direction, "She's a tattle-tell!"

Lindsay pointed right back, "Yeah? Well, she's a butt-inski!"

"Am not!"

"Are so!"

"Am not!"

"Mom! She hit me!"

"She hit me, first!"

"Did not!"

"_Girls_! Don't _make_ me come down there!"

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"So, Daniel…" Ted started as he reached for the corn at the dinner table.

"Please, call me Danny."

"So, _Danny_…" Ted took a thoughtful sip of water. "What exactly are your intentions toward my daughter?"

Helen helpfully patted Danny on the back on her way in from the kitchen with the rolls. Danny's eyes rolled slightly in their sockets as he tried to catch his breath around the bite of steak that seemed to have lodged in his throat. He coughed and spluttered for a few moments before finally reaching for his own water and managing to dislodge the offending morsel.

"Well," he started off hoarsely, then cleared his throat. "We haven't really discussed that, yet… sir." Friendly as Lindsay's father had been thus far, he didn't want to push his luck by being too familiar with him during this conversation.

"What the hell are you waiting for?" asked Tom. He was the eldest of the Monroe children and what he lacked in tact he more than made up for with over-protectiveness.

Now it was Lindsay's turn to choke, and she kicked her brother's shin under the table.

"What?" he shrugged in the face of her glare. "I'm just _asking_."

"Don't mind them, Danny," soothed Helen as she passed him the mashed potatoes. "They can't even believe that Lindsay's an _adult_ yet, let alone that she's having sex with someone as… virile as you." She looked innocently around the table at the dropped mouths of her husband, three children, daughter-in-law, and houseguest.

"Mother!" Erin gasped on Lindsay's behalf upon noticing that her sister was rendered totally speechless.

Danny cleared his throat uncomfortably and ran a hand through his hair. "Actually… uh… Mrs. Monroe," he gulped and stared determinedly at the table cloth in order to avoid the daggers being looked at him by the men at the table. "We… haven't really… um…"

"Hush, dear," Helen cooed at him. "That's enough of this talk at the table." She straightened up a bit in her chair and glanced around the table. "Pass the butter, please?"

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Danny chuckled softly into Lindsay's hair as they curled up together in her bed, later that night. Her door was left open a few inches at her father's insistence, and he could see her almost clearly by the light that was streaming in from the hallway. "You got a great family, Montana." He kissed her forehead and squeezed her a bit tighter.

Lindsay moaned into his chest and lightly punched his shoulder. "I just want to _die_!"

"Hey," Danny said seriously. "No dyin', okay? You ain't allowed to die. It's like… a rule."

"A no-dying rule?" Lindsay fought to keep the corners of her mouth from turning up.

"Yeah, exactly."

"Danny?"

"Yeah, Linds?"

"I really wanted to kiss you this afternoon."

"I've really wanted to kiss you since that day at the zoo."


	7. Chapter 7

Lindsay rolled over and hit the solid wall of Danny's chest as he slept on his side next to her. She smiled to herself and pulled his top arm over her as she snuggled into his warmth. Her smile only widened when she felt him squeeze her closer in his sleep.

Biting her lip, her eyes gazed into his resting face, and she was just as amazed as always that this wonderful, beautiful man wanted _her_. One of these days she'd really have to get around to pinching herself… except that if this was a dream, she _really_ didn't want to wake up from it.

_"I really wanted to kiss you this afternoon."_

_"I've really wanted to kiss you since that day at the zoo."_

_She was taken aback by this admission of his. Back then, she'd thought he'd hated her for replacing Aiden. Who could have guessed that he'd been attracted to her underneath all of that passive aggression? _

_"… but I was an idiot at the zoo. You got me to call Mac, 'sir.' I almost had a heart attack when I had to hold that tiger…" she was floundering and she knew it, but this was all a bit overwhelming._

_Danny rubbed a hand over his face and sighed in resignation. "You're not gonna let me be all romantic and shit, are ya, Montana?" He grinned at her, lying there beside him. "Here __**I**__ am," he poked himself in the chest and adopted a wide-eyed innocent look, "tryin' to be your knight in shinin' armour, flyin' halfway across the country to tell ya how much I like ya, and there __**you**__ go," he touched her nose and wiggled it a little bit when she scrunched it up in annoyance, "freakin' out about somethin' that happened more'n a year ago." _

_Lindsay's mouth soured into a pout. "Fine. You want to be romantic? Be romantic." If it weren't for the fact that her arms were wrapped securely around him, she'd have crossed them over her chest to fully impart her unimpressed… ness… osity. Okay, she really had to think of a new word there._

_"I dunno, Montana," Danny smirked slightly. "I think I might be __**done**__ with bein' romantic." His voice lowered and he got all serious as his hand cupped the side of her face. "For now." Ever so slowly, he dropped his face down toward hers, constantly searching her eyes with his own for approval._

_A small whimper escaped the back of her throat, and Lindsay closed her eyes and cursed silently while Danny chuckled. "Oh, just shut up and kiss me already, Messer. Before I kill you."_

"So I'm tryin' to decide if I should press charges or not," Danny startled her out of her reverie by speaking in a hoarse whisper.

"Charges?" she stared into his blue eyes, grey now in the semi-darkness of her room, and her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Well, you did utter a death threat, after all." He took advantage of her confusion to tickle her ribs and the feel of her squirming underneath him had him close to letting out a whimper of his own.

Lindsay struggled away from his ticking fingers in such a way as to ensure that he ended up on top of her. This wasn't her first time being tortured by a cute guy who knew of her weakness. "But you negated my death threat immediately by conceding to my demands." Danny's hands had stilled by now and her own were tangling into his close-cropped hair. She wiggled her hips slightly until he was nestled oh so wonderfully between her thighs.

"Ohhh fuck, Linds," Danny swore quietly at the feel of her beneath him. "Keep this up, and I'm _definitely _gonna end up dead." He moved his own hips slightly and were it not for their respective pajamas, things might have gone quite a bit farther than either of them had expected a few moments before.

"Ohhh fuck, yourself, Danny," Lindsay groaned into his shoulder. It had been a _long_ time since she'd been in this particular position, and she definitely missed it. But now wasn't the time, and it sure as _hell_ wasn't the place. Her eyes wandered over to the doorway where the light from the hallway was still streaming in. Still, one little kiss couldn't hurt, could it? Just one more before they went back to sleep again?

Her fingers tightened in his hair and her thighs tightened at his hips. She sighed deeply as she pulled him down to capture his lips and his hands slid along the sheets until he was propped up on his elbows with his fingers tangled in her curls. There was no hesitation in this kiss, like there'd been in all of the others they'd shared earlier. This kiss was hungry and desperate and full of promise. His tongue slid along her lips and her mouth opened eagerly. They moaned and sighed together as their tongues slid against each other and their mouths opened and closed in an effort to devour each other. Lindsay raised one leg up and moved it over his gently grinding ass. She was getting a little carried away, but the way he kissed, the way he was making her _feel_, she just didn't care.

"Lindsay," Danny panted, breaking the kiss.

"Mmmhmmm," she moaned, pulling him back down and kissing him again.

"We mmm," he got lost her in again for a moment. "We really … oh fuck," he shuddered against her as her lips caught on the spot right behind his jaw. How in the hell did she know about that?

"We really what?" she breathed into his ear, making him shudder again.

Danny gritted his teeth and took a deep breath before pushing himself up on his arms. "We really need to stop before this gets out of hand." His eyes were pleading with her and all of the muscles in his arms were tense from the strain of keeping himself away from her.

Lindsay blinked up at him, both of them still panting with desire, and felt the implication of what he was saying. Felt the entire, hard length of it lying there against her panties. She felt an urge to bring her arms across her chest, this time not in annoyance but rather to cover up her distended nipples. He was right, and she knew he was right, and she was so very glad that one of them had been able to use their brain in the midst of all of those hormones. Still, that didn't mean she had to make it easy on him.

She crossed her arms, feigning anger, and raised an eyebrow in judgment. "Y'know, Messer, it's a good thing for you that I'm a 'nice girl' from Montana and not one of those floozies from New York."

Danny was a little unsure of how this was going, and so he played defense. "Oh yeah?" he asked with mild interest while simultaneously wondering how he could get his rather obvious erection out of kneeing range. "And why's that?"

"With a line like 'getting out of hand,' you were just asking for me to take you _in_ hand," she looked significantly downward.

"You really _do_ wanna kill me, don't you, Montana?" he asked with a weak grin. He wasn't going to do anything like that with her until they'd had at least one proper date, but when he _did_… was that ever gonna be good. Whoa.

Lindsay pushed him off of her and rolled over so her back was to him. "If I really wanted you dead," she remarked as she settled down to sleep, "I'd just tell Tom and my Dad about what you were about to do." She grinned into the pillow.

Danny's mouth opened and closed like a fish underwater. "But… but…!" He was trying to think of how to express his full indignation that what they'd been doing was somehow all _his_ doing, but then he noticed Lindsay's shoulders quaking in silent laughter and he just rolled his eyes. "All right," he said sarcastically. "Yuck it up, Monroe." He turned over and started to get comfortable, himself. "Just remember this when you end up meetin' _my_ family."

The sound of her horrified gasp was music to his ears, and he settled down to sleep with a wide grin plastered over his face.

**Author's Note:** This chapter is for all of you who have been _craving_ "teh sex" since the beginning of "You're in My Thoughts" :D


	8. Chapter 8

Lindsay tried not to blush under her father's baleful glare at the breakfast table the following morning. He'd been prowling the hallway outside of her room at sporadic intervals all night, and he'd made it completely clear that he wasn't enamoured of the sleeping arrangements that she and Danny had worked out the night before. Her mother's comment at dinner hadn't helped matters _at all_, either. She just hoped that by avoiding her father's gaze and determinedly not looking at Danny while her father was in the room, she'd also be able to avoid any sort of blood being spilled. It was worth a shot, right?

For Danny's part, he was gulping his breakfast down an increasing dry throat and attempting to wash the solid lumps out of his gullet with large drinks of orange juice. He looked only at his plate and had a constant stream of Hail Mary's running through his subconscious. He hadn't felt this nervous around a girl's father since Tracy DeLuca's pop had threatened to castrate him the next time he crawled up the drainpipe and into her room. Note to self: no more touching Montana while you're in Montana.

"Are you _sure_ you have to leave today, Danny?" Helen asked, making him jump as she put a gentle hand on his shoulder and offered him a muffin.

"Oh! Uh, yeah. I do." Danny looked across the table at Ted's glowering expression and licked his lips in discomfort. "I'm on shift tonight, and I don't want to miss any work."

"That's right, Helen," Ted said sternly. "The boy's got responsibilities to take care of back in… _NewYork_." His face soured slightly as he said the name, and it came out sounding almost like a curse.

"Of course, I understand that… but couldn't you call your Detective Taylor and ask for some more time? Under the circumstances…?" Helen smiled kindly at Danny while simultaneously kicking her husband's shins under the table.

"Ow!" Ted looked sourly across the table at his wife and said, not at all convincingly through clenched teeth, "I mean, yeah. Why don't you stay longer, Danny? We'd _love_ to have you."

Lindsay cleared her throat and looked up at her mother with pleading eyes. Someone had to keep her father in check for the next thirty seconds, and it sure wasn't going to be _her_. She had to keep her exit path clear of all debris and angry fathers. "Actually, Mom, I'm going to be heading back a bit early, as well."

The sudden silence around the table was broken only by the sharp sounds of cutlery being placed on china with quite a bit of force.

"Really, dear?" Helen asked in an overly-bright voice with a hint of brittleness. "But you've only just got here."

"I… I know. I just… I want to get back to work." Lindsay caught Erin's eye across the table and gave the international _help-me-out-willya-sibling?_ eye roll and brow raise.

Erin quickly swallowed her toast and cast around for a valid point to make. "Uh… yeah, guys. You uh… you don't want her using up all of her vacation time in one go, right?" She sat back with a small smile on her face. That was better than she'd expected.

"Right!" Lindsay latched onto the idea with enthusiasm. "I want to be able to come back for Christmas, after all."

Helen nodded in defeat and Ted seemed to take this bit of news in stride.

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"I wonder if they're gonna let me take all this on the plane," Danny chuckled as he shifted the leftovers in the backseat so that they wouldn't fall over in transit.

"They'd better, if they know what's good for them." Helen caught a rather surprised Danny in a bear hug and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "And you'd better come back again, if you know what's good for you," she smiled.

His grin was large and his cheeks a bit pink as he acknowledged the older woman. "Yes, ma'am," he tipped his fingers to his temple in mock salute. Turning, he offered Ted a hand.

The two men shook with solemn expressions on their faces and Ted seemed to be trying to gauge Danny's worthiness. Finally, he nodded to himself and pulled the younger man in for a swift half-hug and pat on the back. "You take care of my baby," Ted whispered hoarsely. "I almost lost her once. I can't do that again."

"You've got my word on that, sir," Danny murmured back before they separated.

"_C'mon_ already," Erin pouted from behind the wheel of her car. "Get a move on or you'll miss your plane!"

"You been teachin' her how we do stuff in New York, Montana?"

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"I'll get your car back to the rental agency," Lindsay sniffled slightly as she needlessly straightened Danny's jacket for him. "And I'll tell Erin you said not to speed so much on the way home." She plucked some imaginary lint off his shoulder. "I'll email you with my flight information, if you still wanted to pick me up on Sunday…" her lower lip wobbled slightly before she got it back under control.

"Montana?" Danny lifted her chin up to look at him. She kept her eyes averted. "Lindsay," he said more firmly. "Even Mac can't keep me from pickin' you up on Sunday, you got that?"

She laughed in spite of herself, brushing her fingers under one eye to catch a tear that threatened to fall. "Why are you so damned fantastic all of the time, anyway, Messer?"

Danny wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed the top of her head. "What can I say?" he grinned and chuckled lightly. "I was born this way." He caught her struggles and stopped her from smacking him, instead leaning down and kissing her. She immediately melted against his lips and sighed into his mouth, her arms moving up his chest and around his neck. His own hands moved over her back and tangled into her curls as his tongue tangled with hers.

Lindsay smiled against his lips and then smacked him in the back of the head.

"Ow! Geez, Montana, what the hell?" Danny broke off their kiss and rubbed the back of his head. Her devious grin was enough to make him kiss her again. "Lulled me into a false sense of security, eh?"

"Mmmhmm," Lindsay agreed, making up for it by kissing him even harder.

**Would all passengers for FF Airlines flight 227 please make their way through security, now. We will be boarding in twenty minutes. All passengers on FF Airlines flight 227 through security now, please.**

"They're playin' my song," Danny whispered against her lips.

"See you in a few days," Lindsay whispered back, not releasing her grip.

"You know it."

"And Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"You still owe me some pizza."

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**Author's Note:** just to clarify in case I wasn't clear, they said goodbye to Lindsay's parents at her house and Erin drove one car while Danny and Lindsay drove his rental to the airport. Erin was then going to drive Lindsay back home. I know it's not important to the plot or anything, but that's what that was all about. I was just too lazy to make it obvious in the story.

Oh, and I know it's been a month since the last chapter. I'll try to update more frequently next time. Like tonight, if I'm on the ball :D


	9. Chapter 9

Lindsay bit her lip nervously as she walked down the hallway. Hitching her bag more securely onto her shoulder, she pulled her suitcase along behind her. All she had to do was remember to breathe. As long as she kept breathing, everything else would sort itself out. If she _stopped_ breathing, though, it would be rather difficult to continue with her life.

Finally, she came to the end of the corridor and the sliding doors parted, revealing a mass of people waiting behind a rope line. She swallowed reflexively over the lump that suddenly appeared in her throat. He wasn't there. Her brow furrowed and she nibbled her lip again. She'd given Danny her itinerary, and they'd emailed and IM'd back and forth for the last three days. Just that morning, he'd called to reassure her that he'd be there waiting for her at the airport and now, he wasn…

"Lindsay!"

She turned so fast she got a crick in her neck.

"Montana! Over here!"

She craned her neck, straining to see past all of the other people waiting for loved ones.

"To your right!"

… and there he was. Her face broke into a huge grin as she watched him jump up and down repeatedly, waving his arms frantically to get her attention. Not paying the least bit of attention to the people she plowed past, she ran across the intervening linoleum, let go of her suitcase, and dropped her carry-on onto the floor with a thud before throwing herself bodily into his arms.

Danny caught her and managed to stay upright, only staggering slightly under her sudden weight. "Gee, Montana. Ya miss me or somethin'?" he grinned at her.

"Shut up, Messer," she grinned back, lightly punching his back with her arms still wrapped around his neck.

After staring into his laughing blue eyes for a moment of complete and utter peace, Lindsay dragged her fingers through his impeccably groomed hair, messing it up because she liked it all spiky and out of control. Then, just as he was opening his mouth to protest, she kissed him.

It wasn't any small peck on the cheek, the sort that you get from your Great Aunt Ida when she visits for the first time in two years. It wasn't even the kind of kiss that 95 of the other couples in the airport were exchanging. She closed her eyes, dragged his lips down to hers, and kissed him with every single bit of pent-up sexual frustration and emotional turmoil he'd ever caused her to feel. And when she was done, she came up for air, tilted her head in the other direction, and did it again.

"Well, then…" Danny started after they'd broken apart and he'd cleared his throat two or three times.

"Help me with these bags and then get me some pizza," Lindsay ordered, her face flushed and her lips full and bruised.

Danny blinked at her for a moment. "I ever tell you how sexy you are when you order me around?"

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Whaddaya lookin' at that for?" Danny asked as he noticed Lindsay looking at the drinks menu.

"I'm trying to decide what kind of wine I want," she replied, chewing her lower lip and thus making her date think all manner of highly distracting thoughts.

"Wine? With pizza? You kiddin' me?" Danny joked, leaning forward to better appreciate how her tongue kept flicking out to lick her lips, making them shine.

She turned to the waitress and ordered a glass of house red while Danny ordered a draft beer from the bar. "Don't knock it 'til you've tried it," she argued, knowing that he probably wouldn't but enjoying the fun of the argument, anyway. It had been so long since they'd been able to argue with each other. She'd missed their little spats… especially now that they had such a nice way of making up afterwards.

"I can think of a few other things I'd rather try _first_," Danny rejoined with a significant look.

Lindsay's face flushed, and she hoped it was less obvious in the candlelight of the restaurant than it would have been in the brightness of day. Thing was, there were a few things she felt like trying, too.

"Keep that up, we might just have to make this a take-out order," she grinned.

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"Holy fucking shit, Linds," Danny groaned a couple of hours later. She'd just allowed him to get his hands under her shirt, and he was definitely feeling appreciative.

He was also feeling her tits.

His hands wandered all over her bra-clad chest and back down over her tummy and around her back. He cupped her ass, explored her bare skin, retraced his steps to where her breasts were covered in something that felt incredibly sexy and lacy, and wondered for the ten thousandth time how far he dared to go. The way she was kissing him, sucking on his tongue and doing amazing things with her own, was definitely giving him ideas… and encouragement. Still, he wasn't quite sure…

Then again… nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"Mmm…" she broke away from him with a small gasp. "Not yet, okay?" she asked uncertainly, breathing hard and struggling to keep him at bay for a moment.

His hand immediately dropped away from her bra clasp. "No problem, sweetheart," he reassured her while mentally kicking himself. Go slow. Don't rush her. Don't be a dickwad and screw things up. He removed his hand completely from underneath her shirt and then kissed her more chastely on the lips. "Whenever you're ready, okay?"

Lindsay nodded, letting out the breath that she'd been holding. On the one hand, here was Mr. Oh-My-God-_Sexy_, sitting with her on her living room couch, kissing her and touching her in ways that made her forget her own _name_. On the other hand, she really wanted to make sure that when they _did_ take things further, she wouldn't break into a spontaneous crying fit because she couldn't keep her emotions under control.

Of course, she'd already proved to herself that she could keep herself in emotional check with his hands all over her half-naked torso, right? Right. Bringing his hands back up under her shirt, she pulled it off over her head.

"Whoa." Danny licked his lips as his eyebrows just about disappeared into his hairline. "Nice bra."

Lindsay smiled down at him as she maneuvered her way onto his lap. "Just cuz I want it to stay on, shouldn't mean you can't see it, right?"

"Montana," Danny said with his biggest smile of the night, "You are a fuckin' _genius_."


	10. Chapter 10

Mac stared at Lindsay over his steepled fingers. She fidgeted nervously in her seat, but she met his stare and didn't back down.

"You're sure?" he asked in that low, serious voice of his.

"I'm sure," she answered with the barest of tremors in hers.

"And Dr. Anderson…?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Has given me permission to resume my duties, yes." She held her chin up a bit higher, as if daring him to question her.

Mac stood up, allowing the ghost of a smile to touch his features and holding his hand outstretched. "Then welcome back."

Lindsay returned his smile with one of her own and shook his hand. "It's good to _be_ back… _sir_."

Their smiles widened briefly as they recalled their first meeting, and then it was all back to business.

"We've got a dead chef…"

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I still can't believe the improvement you've made since the verdict, Lindsay. It's really rather remarkable."

Lindsay blushed and looked down at her hands as her fingers twisted in her lap. "Ac…" she cleared her throat. "Actually, it's not the verdict so much as…" she paused as she tried to find the right way to phrase it. "… something else." Well, that was nice and clear. Not vague at all. Nope. Completely comprehensible, really. She sighed and put a hand over her eyes.

Dr. Anderson chuckled mildly. "Well yes, I'd have to say that if it weren't the verdict it would almost _have_ to be something else." She lifted her cup and took a sip of tea. "Would you care to share with me just what that _'something else'_" she lifted her fingers in air quotes as she said the words, "might be?"

Lindsay couldn't help but smile. Her psychologist really had a way of making her feel comfortable and able to talk about anything. She guessed that's what made her so good. She'd started coming to see the older woman back in the fall when she'd first heard about the trial date, and sometimes she wondered if she'd have managed all winter without her.

Looking slightly sheepish, Lindsay whispered, "… Danny?" Her eyebrows lifted and she bit her lower lip and shrugged her shoulders slightly. She knew what was coming.

"**Danny?**" the older woman blinked. "Your partner from work? _That_ Danny?"

"… yes?"

"Well, that's…" Dr. Anderson took a moment to let that news sink in. "_Really._" She was now biting the end of her pen and staring off into space. "Interesting." Bending over her clipboard she started to take notes.

"What are you…?"

"Just a moment, dear. Won't be a minute."

"But…"

"Tut-tut."

Lindsay sighed mildly and leaned back more comfortably in her chair. She was used to this. It was part of the reason why she liked Dr. Anderson so much. They both had a habit of writing things down when they needed to think. Seeing her psychologist making notes like this just made her think of herself trying to figure out what had happened at a crime scene. She guessed she was at least as much of a puzzle as that jeweled cockroach.

"Alright, _now_…" she straightened up in her chair, pulled down her blazer in a businesslike way and checked her bun to make sure that her hair was still in place. "What is it about Danny that has caused such a measured improvement?"

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Danny drummed his fingers against the arms of the chair as he waited outside of the office. It freaked him out a bit that Montana was in there talking to some shrink about who knew what. He remembered having to do that after that shit with his brother. It made him jumpy just thinking about some stranger wanting to know about his… feelings. He looked at his watch. Hadn't it been an hour, yet? C'mon.

He stood up suddenly as the door opened and Lindsay came out with a studious-looking woman with grey hair and glasses. He gave a jerky head bow to her in acknowledgement. "Hey Mon… Lindsay. You ready to go?"

Lindsay smiled at him and the entire room lit up. "Yup. All done for today." She turned around so he could help her with her jacket. "Danny… this is Dr. Anderson. Dr. Anderson, _this_ is Danny."

He held out a hand in greeting and felt a bit sick when the woman replied, "I've heard _so_ much about you," and smiled at him.

"Uh…" he froze.

"I'll see you again next Tuesday, right Lindsay?"

"Right."

Shit. Now all he could think about is what Montana was saying about him in there. That was gonna bug him all day.

"Don't worry," she whispered in his ear as he held the door open for her. "It was all good stuff."

Good stuff, eh? He was grinning like an idiot, and he wasn't even going to try to stop.

**Author's Note:** I think I'm going to call this the end of this installment. Lindsay's back in New York and back on the job. She and Danny are starting to actually _date_ (and get a bit more physical). I've established a relationship with a health-care professional, and I'm going to keep that going in part three… wherein we will FINALLY get to "teh secks." Thanks for reading and putting up with the pauses in this story. The next one should happen much faster (fingers crossed).

See you in the sequel!


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